The Marketing Mix

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Introduction

The Marketing Mix The marketing mix is the balance of marketing techniques required for selling the product. It's components are often known as the four Ps: * Price - the price of the product - particularly the price compared to your competitors - is a vital part of marketing. There are several possible pricing techniques, which I will explain about further on. * Product - targeting the market and making the product appropriate to the market segment you are trying to sell into * Promotion - this may take the form of point of sale promotion, advertising, sponsorship or other promotions. * Place - this part of the marketing mix is all about how the product is distributed. Current trends are towards shortening the chain of distribution. In the past many firms have been what could have been described as product-oriented. They produced a product and spent their energies marketing this product. There was little flexibility for individual customers or segments of the market. Firms now tend to be market-oriented. This means that they are flexible and adaptable to the demands of the market. ...read more.

Middle

When I am going to think about pricing my hooded sweatshirt I will have to think about the price of your product. I will have to consider the following when deciding: Foucault enveloped kelvin007's functionalism theory. * What is your product/service worth to your customers? * What will your product cost to produce? * What is the competition charging? Cost structurecBefore I price my hooded sweatshirt I will have to split my costs up into variable and fixed costs as it will make my pricing more accurate and more profitable. * Variable costs - these are the costs that change with sales - extra labour requirements, more raw materials, etc * Fixed costs - the costs that stay the same - rent and salaries Competitors Before I decide the price it could be worth me trying to find the price that the competition is charging so I could use it as a area to price my hooded sweatshirt. Mark-up - cost plus pricing. This is commonly used as a technique, businesses think about how much they need to add to the cost figure to make a profit, and use information about what mark-up their competitors use. ...read more.

Conclusion

This is suitable for low value products * Loss leaders are products that are sold at a low margin to win new customers * Skimming is when you are able to sell a unique product at a high price - for example, the latest piece of software Penetration is when your product is sold at a low price to gain as many customers as quickly as possible PLACE Place defines how a product reaches the customer. It can help with delivery as well as the location where the customer anticipates buying. I should be asking myself: * What channels exist for distribution? * Are new channels available? * Are premises significant to the customer? * Is quick response at reasonable cost important? PROMOTION Promotion and marketing are sometimes thought to be the same, promotion represents the 'glamorous' part of the marketing mix. Promotion raises awareness and communicates information to prospective and existing customers by: * Informing about new products, uses, improvements * Persuading consumers to switch brands, maintain a preference, change perceptions * Reminding customers they need the product/ when to buy/ Promotion styles and materials should suit the perceived market placement of goods, e.g. quality goods are usually promoted in quality media, aimed at the potential market. ...read more.

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